To be honest, I don’t even know what else the officer said to my grandma. I was standing right behind her, choking back tears for the second time last Saturday. The first time came with “laughter”, the last word of the poem grandma asked me to read to conclude the funeral service.

To be honest, I don’t want to know what else that officer said. He didn’t say it to me, he said it to my grandma.

I’m proud of my grandfather. I’m proud to be his grandson. I’m grateful for the stories he shared, and for the lessons he taught me. And to hear that soldier say that our country was grateful for him too… well that was about the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard.